Posted
Thursday, October 02, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Photography, Chad Schneider's "new york is a friendly town": Webster University tends to not possess that definitive gallery space, though a couple of small ones exist on campus, including the modest, little May Gallery, a thin stretch of hallway arts space on the second floor of the Sverdrup complex. For some happy reason, the shows this semester have been quite interesting and one that's really caught my attention is the current display, a selection of Holga photographs from Chad Schneider. They're sneaky shots, seemingly taken at random, depicting regular people in their daily activities. The satured colors really make the pieces pop off of the drab Sverdrup walls; I'll be sad to see these images go, but plan on lingering in the hall as much as possible through October 24.Cabaret, Fran Landesman: A classic name from the heyday of Gaslight Square, Fran Landesman will be performing a varied show at the Gaslight Theatre during October, featuring songs and stories. As one sign of how cool this event is, Al Becker of KDHX has never quite sounded so upbeat about a gig and as the man knows his female jazz vocalists, that's a sound endorsement. (And he used to live in a building owned by the Landesman family, on the western edge of Gaslight.) What a great time it should be; hope to catch one show, if not two.
Dillweeds, Joe Lieberman: Early yesterday, I was standing at Commerce Bank, watching the piped-in Fox News broadcast from Washington University, with Joe Lieberman waxing on about the strengths of the Republican ticket. Just as I was musing on what a foul person this individual seems to be, a voice behind me volunteered, "I cannot stand that guy!" Turning around, I joined by teller-window neighbor in political talk for about four-minutes, as each of us waited for transactions to complete. It was a fascinating little discussion and reminded me that this type of thing only happens so often, when political conversations break out at random. While I'll be as happy as anyone to be past November 4 (for more than one reason), I've found more political talk recently than I recall in a long time. That'll be missed. Right? We'll stop talking about this? Won't we? Curious. In the meantime, I'm irritated to even live on a street called Connecticut.
Books, "The Exes" by Pagan Kennedy: Got in a long spiel the other day, extolling the virtues of "The Exes," a rock'n'roll novel by Pagan Kennedy, set in the rock'n'roll prime of the rockin'n'rollin' mid-'90s. Walked up to Dunaway to see if the book was in-stock and it wasn't, which isn't surprising since I've never found a book that I was actually seeking while at Dunaway, though I've bought plenty of books I wasn't looking for, you know? And I used to own "The Exes," but it was either given away or loaned out. To whom? I ponder these questions now, while having a strong desire to re-read the book. And to have my long-awaited heart-to-heart with Pagan Kennedy. One thought leads to another, no...?
Generations, "The Dumbest Generation": Speaking of books I cannot wait to read, I wasn't even aware of this work until this week, but it's so up the proverbial alley that it demands an immediate order from the library. Apparently, author Mark Bauerlein believes that today's youth is too enamored of texting, Googling and instant messaging to get down to the serious business of life. Got a feeling this one's possessing a real Andy Rooney-esque vibe, but I'm looking for a good laugh at young folks' expense.
Travel, Memphis and/or New Orleans: Fall break is coming up. Recommendations on flops sought. No conditions too rough, for the right, low, low price. Seriously. You folks that are able to summon up the best deals: hook a brother up.
Change, O'Connells: Prices are up. This happens from time-to-time. Every, oh, two years. In more shocking news, at least one new server has been added to the front-of-house staff. Now this happens, oh, every decade. And earlier this week, the prominent menu in the bar area was taken off the wall, to affix the aforementioned new prices. When the mundane shocks, it is a great shock, indeed.
Food, quinoa: Loaded with nutrients. Weirdly neutral in taste. Kinda yucky. Who knew?
Soccer, Cabrini Academy: The lads, broken into two leagues, have staggered out of the gate, with a combined 1-10 record. Anyone know a good sports psychologist?
Money, KDHX: It's that time of the year. The fall membership drive at KDHX. Ah, yes, many an hour spent eating food from restaurants that I've never visited/never will visit, cut with doses of asking for cash to support the best station in town. Today, I began my personal, 10-day journey into pledge solicitation, with guests Darren Snow and Doug Morgan on "Silver Tray"; Monday's got a short sprint on "Topic A." Followed by round of metal on next week's "Double Mayhem" and that following day's "Silver Tray." What a week-and-change! Do call in, friends.
Racy French singer/songwriter, Sebastien Tellier: Of course!
Blogging, 16 Tips: For the life of me, I cannot recall if I've posted this in the past, but as I've not yet gone through all the articles myself, I'll go ahead and note a nice, rounded selection of pieces giving bloggers tips about... well, what you'd expect.
Pests, fleas: Harder to remove from clothing than you might think. And you might even start out thinking that they're hard to remove from clothing. And, yet, they exceed those lofty expectations. Bastards!
2 Comments:
Re: your copy of "The Exes"
I have it.
Will drop in the mail this weekend. I also believe I have a couple of other things that I should return. Expect a surprise.
One of life's many small questions has been answered. If that was a gift, I'm not trying to cadge it back, though... a surprise in the mail is always welcomed.
For future referencing, I'm noting in digital ink that it's being lent to Jason Hutto next.
By 
Thomas Crone, at
4:36 PM